Tell us about the plot behind your book, Blood Born.
Blood Born brings back Detective Christina Randall from my first novel, The Organ Donor. She’s now on the sex crimes squad of the Fairfax County P.D. (near Washington, DC), investigating a serial rapist whose victims all become pregnant. She eventually teams up with a fertility doctor who’s the mother of one of the victims. This doctor’s colleague at the CalPark Fertility Clinic is doing some strange and illegal experiments involving genetic engineering. Readers familiar with my second novel, Eyes Everywhere, will recognize CalPark as the shady multinational corporation on the tail of Charlie Fields.
The worst thing about these rapes is that all of the victims come to term in just one week. And when they give birth, their children aren’t exactly human. In fact, the babies grow to adulthood in just a few days—eating everyone in their path—before going in search of more women to rape. What starts out as a police procedural in the nation’s capital becomes an apocalyptic monster story.
I got the idea from the way viruses spread through our bodies, in how they can use a healthy cell to replicate more copies of the virus before destroying it. I also wanted to do something original and not recycle a monster that people are used to—or sick of—reading about, such as vampires or werewolves.
Did you have any reservations about the violence that occurs with young women in the book?
No, because without the violence, Blood Born wouldn’t have a story. If what you’re really asking me is do I think I’ve written something that is exploitative or which encourages violence against women, then the answer is still no. In fact, what I like most about this novel is that it’s a horror story women will appreciate. The protagonists are strong women; the problem faced is directly targeted at women; and the ultimate solution relies squarely upon the ingenuity and biology of women.
I always enjoy any story’s villain the most, and this story was no exception. Nick Schaefer is the shady scientist who works in the “research” department only one floor over the fertility clinic where Dr. Margaret Connolly works. He’s a strange-looking man with facial lines in unusual places, and he walks as if he’s been crossbred with a panther. Why won’t he let Margaret—or anyone else—have access to his floor? What exactly is he doing up there with his electron microscopes and serums? And why is he fascinated with Adolph Hitler?
As a teenager, I very much enjoyed Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, particularly the way it suggested that words have power, that if you could just call something by its true name, you will have control over it. It’s a profound concept, and it explains in a way what the horror genre tries to do, by giving us power over our fears. I suppose I’ve always been trying to order the world through my writing—that if I could just describe it the right way in a story, maybe I could shape it into something better.
Another book that had a huge effect on my writing was Syd Field’s Screenplay, which taught me what a story is and how to structure it. Anyone who wants to be a fiction writer should start there.
I read about Sonar4 Publications through the submission guidelines at Ralan.com. Sonar4 and Blood Born seemed like a good match, so I submitted the book there.
I’ve been writing stories since childhood, when I had the benefit of attending a public school system (Fairfax County, Virginia) that at the time placed a great emphasis on the creative arts. After high school, while studying for my journalism degree from James Madison University, I continued to write and submit short stories to various markets I read about through the annual Writer’s Market and market zines like Scavenger’s Newsletter.
It wasn’t until I started going to conventions ten years ago, to network with people and generally learn about the industry, that my career started gaining some real traction. Since that time, I’ve sold five books and a few dozen short stories. Lately, I’ve made some modest headway into the movie industry, submitting to competitions and teaming up with an excellent independent horror film maker here in Virginia. I’m not a full time writer yet, but it has certainly evolved into a comfortable side vocation.
Oh, yeah. Deena is my first and best reader. She illustrates for horror publishers (including doing the cover for Blood Born, incidentally), and we have similar reading interests, so she has a good feel for what works. What I find the most beneficial is to read to her, aloud, each chapter of a book as I complete it. That way, I can instantaneously get her feedback on my writing, even from her facial expressions. Reading to her affords me the added benefit of having to slow down and listen to my own words as they come out of my mouth, which is a great editing tool.
Less: following the herd. “Oh, are Twilight and Harry Potter popular? Let’s put out a bazillion imitations.”
More: originality. We don’t need a Nightmare on Elm Street remake. What we need are new stories and voices. If publishers and film makers took more chances, I think the risk would be rewarded.
Unless I’m doing something monotonous like data entry, I prefer to work in silence so I can concentrate. I generally write the best in the morning, when my mind is the most fresh, and of course when my son is down for his nap.
That learning to write well is an endeavor very much like learning a sport or musical instrument. Just because you speak the language and have learned the mechanics of writing in school doesn’t mean that you have developed your artistic skill. It requires constant practice, study, and patience.
My favorites include Charlaine Harris, F. Paul Wilson, David Morrell, and Orson Scott Card.
Are there other projects besides Blood Born that our readers should be on the lookout for?
At this fall’s Horrorfind Weekend convention, Darkstone Entertainment will sell a limited edition, short-film trilogy titled The Lovecraft Chronicles. Director John Johnson and I co-wrote two of the screenplays. The DVD’s booklet insert will contain a fourth story that I’ll write this summer.
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Tags: THE SUNDAY SPECIAL
May 30th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Yet another insightful interview - thanks Lori.
May 30th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Thanks for stopping by to read it, Sean